November is National Novel-Writing Month, in which writers from all walks of life and from all around the globe take on the self-imposed challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. This year was my first year participating (along with the rest of my Creative Writing class), and I am pleased to report that I succeeded! It was an incredible adventure, and even though the book has not been polished yet, I feel like sharing an excerpt with you all.

The Machine known as the Omniscience, or the Omni for short, was created to calculate a person's every need and choose a path for his or her life that not only ensures maximum happiness for the individual, but for society as well. At the age of eighteen, every citizen is obligated to be tested and analyzed by the Machine for a week. The Omni determines one's occupation, social class, probable income, and even location, and is an essential ingredient for a functioning society. But over the last two years, something has been going wrong with the Machine. Matches have been made that are so far off the mark as to seem ridiculous. Teenagers have disappeared--or worse, been found dead--inside. Others have been psychologically scarred beyond repair, so severely that they can't even function.

It's Lilah Ellerby's eighteenth birthday.

The
city of Edgerton was the mechanical capital of the world, and this
fact was quite obvious to everyone who saw it. Large computers the
size of office buildings dominated the skyline, and even the normal
buildings shone with a copper color that made them look like
machines. Smokestacks—utterly anachronistic, as steam and smoke
hadn't been used for centuries—proudly stood on the tops of
buildings. Patterns of gears interlaced with ornately-styled ones and
zeroes embossed the stair rails.

Lilah
hated it. It wasn't that she wasn't used to machines—in fact,
practically her entire upbringing had been centered around them. They
were a staple of society. Without them, everything would grind to a
halt. It wasn't even the concept of machines dominating her life. It
was just that one had struck a blow to her family that could never be
recovered from. That wasn't something Lilah was going to forgive
easily.

After
a few minutes, the car stopped and the eighteen-year-olds inside got
their first look at the Omniscience up close. It was the same golden
hue as the rest of the Machines, though that was mostly for show. The
metal was smooth and undented—the
city must have a round-the-clock cleaning crew to keep it this
pristine, Lilah
thought with a slight bitterness. The entire Machine took up roughly
the size of two city blocks.

“The
whirring sounds are much louder up close,” she commented.

“Oh,
don't worry,” said the attendant. “Once you get in, you won't be
able to hear a thing. The Omni likes it quiet so that your brain
waves won't be disturbed. Unless, of course, it is that you like
the noise. If so, the Omni will take that into consideration.” Her
tone resembled that of a tour guide's. “It's a very intelligent
Machine, you know. Learns faster than any human possibly could.”

“Of
course.” Lilah had heard that
particular piece of information more than enough times.

“Follow
me, folks!” The attendant turned and began walking towards a large
glass door labeled “Launch Station #3”. The teenagers followed,
some shaking nervously, some fingering their tools and communication
devices.

They
walked into a large lobby with much the same design scheme as the
exterior and waited as the attendant checked in with the
receptionist. A few bells dinged and a teenaged boy with scraggly
black hair and wild eyes stumbled out of a nearby hallway. His
clothes were disheveled. As he caught Lilah's eyes he opened his
mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out except that of his heavy,
panicked breath. One of the attendants rushed over to help him as the
boy began to mutter under his breath, nonsensical words of which
Lilah could only catch a few. “...it's too dark... too dark...
where are they hiding?... where are they coming from?... hide hide
hide... dark... too dark... why why why... are they coming? Are they
coming? Are they-” The members of the group exchanged worried
glances.

The
receptionist handed their group's attendant a clipboard and directed
them all to walk down the hallway that the distraught boy had come
from, which had a sign that marked it as the “Entrance Hall”.
When they reached it, they found themselves staring at a line of
uniform transparent elevators with large numbers etched on the doors.

The
attendant pursed her lips and turned to her charges. “Look, I'm not
going to pretend this isn't scary. This is probably the most
dangerous time to be in the Omni. Ever. But just—be strong. The
chances are that nothing too terrible will happen. And if they do,
you're prepared. You are almost mature, responsible adults, and you
still have the vigor of youth. You'll find a way to overcome any
challenge you can face in there.” She smiled a bit, obviously proud
of her little speech. She clapped her hands together. “So go! Have
fun! The Omni is designed to make you
happy, whatever that may be!” She glanced at the first name on her
list. “Jonathan Edison, you're in Elevator One. Melanie Edwards,
Two. Lilah Ellerby, Three. Adam Emerson...”

Lilah
very hesitantly slid open the door to her elevator and stepped in.
Whose bright idea was it to make the elevators see-through?

Once
everyone was loaded in, the attendant relayed the instructions from
the other side of the doors. “When you're ready, press the red
button. There will be a wait to see if the room is available. If it
is, the square button to the right will light up in green. Press it
to go up into the Machine. If it lights up in red, get out of the
elevator and come see me; we'll assign you another room. Anytime
you're ready!”

Lilah
took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Sure, she was afraid. But
this was just something she was going to have to face. Slowly, her
hazel eyes opened and her finger slammed against the red button.
Almost immediately, the green button lit up. She pressed it quickly,
so that she wouldn't have the time to talk herself out of it.

The elevator lurched upwards at a
seemingly impossible speed, propelling Lilah into the inner workings
of the Machine known as the Omniscience. She held her breath, knowing
that her life would be forever changed by this moment, one way or
another.

Panic began to really set in.
What if everything went wrong? What if she disappeared, just like
Anna? What if she got trapped inside of the Omni forever?